Trump to huddle with House moderates Wednesday

A group of moderate House members is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, the latest across-the-aisle outreach by the White House to Democrats.

Members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, including its co-chairmen, Reps. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), will attend, according to multiple sources.

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Several other moderate members are on the list of those invited, including Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), co-chair of the center-left Blue Dog Coalition, and Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona Democrat who is weighing a challenge against Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

Also on the invite list, according to a source: Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi of New York, Kurt Schrader of Oregon, Stephanie Murphy of Florida, Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Peter Welch of Vermont, along with Republican Reps. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, Drew Ferguson of Georgia, Martha McSally of Arizona and Susan Brooks of Indiana.

Tax reform will be among the issues discussed. Multiple House Republican sources told POLITICO that House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady would lead a conference-wide meeting Wednesday afternoon on changing the tax system. The meeting is the beginning of an effort to whip Republicans on tax reform, though a budget resolution to serve as a vehicle for tax reform must first be passed.

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Members at the White House meeting are also expected to talk with Trump about a legislative fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, according to two sources. Trump has sent public and private signals in recent days that he’s open to a deal on Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children — even one that doesn’t include funding for a wall along the Mexican border as long as there are some border-security provisions attached.

Democrats plan to tell Trump "that there's bipartisan support to get something done, let's bring it to the floor to get legislation done, and I think it's what people want on both sides of the aisle," Gottheimer said.

Tuesday night the president hosted several senators — including red-state Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana — over dinner to talk tax reform. And last week Trump and Democratic leaders agreed to a fiscal deal that raises the debt limit and funds the government through mid-December.

The White House meeting with House moderates was first reported by USA Today.